Traditional PB&J sandwiches are about to go the way of “Dukes of Hazzard” lunch boxes and the idea that ketchup is anything but a vegetable.
That’s if the J.M. Smucker Co. and its surging Uncrustables brand get their way, at least.
Uncrustables…
… are sealed, crustless PB&J sandwiches with crimped edges, like palm-sized ravioli.
They were invented by two fathers in 1995, and the design was quickly acquired and then patented by Smucker (which was controversial at the time, given the potential for stifling other innovations in the PB&J industry).
Sales for Uncrustables in 2024 are estimated to reach $900m+, thanks to their convenience (put a frozen disk in your lunch in the morning, and by noon it’ll thaw to a soft ready-to-eat sandwich) and their staggering popularity among football players.
- NFL teams go through 80k+ Uncrustables each year, per The New York Times, and famous boyfriend Travis Kelce says he eats them “more than I eat anything else in the world.”
But it’s not enough
Smucker envisions Uncrustables as a world-dominating brand, and even owning 8% of the 11B school lunches eaten daily isn’t enough.
- Smucker just finished building a third dedicated Uncrustables plant, per Food Business News.
- Piggybacking off of its recent acquisition of Hostess, Smucker says Uncrustables will soon move into convenience stores.
- That means on-the-go types will be able to simply grab one, rather than having to keep a whole box in their freezer.
The Uncrustable of the future
Uncrustables offers several varieties already, including jelly, honey, chocolate-hazelnut, and no jelly at all.
But the next step is a “seasonal platform,” which Smucker told Food Business will “expand eating occasions” by “inspiring new usage” (mmm, it really makes you hungry!) and encourage uninitiated consumers to try Uncrustables.
You may not be interested in PB&J, but how about some kind of pumpkin-spice sandwich?
